Mirror frame door



Jan. 5, 1937. s, pmE'R Re; 20,231

' `llIaRoR FRAME vnook i Original Filed Sept 16, 1932 2I sheets-Shut 1INVENTOR SIDNEY PIKER,

. Jan. 5, 1937: s. PIKR M Ignon FRAILE `Doon Original Filed sept.. 16,1952 Ree.I 20,231

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. SIDNEY Pl kan ATTO EY:

Reissued Jan. 5, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MIRROR FRAME DooROriginal No. 1,954,225, dated April 10, 1934, Serial No. 633,494,September 16, 1932. for reissue March 11, 1935, Serial 10 Claims.

My invention relates to doors for bathroom cabinets, surgical cabinetsand the like, in which the door has a mirror mounted in it which may beopened to expose the interior of the cabinet. 'I'he door, which closed,has the .appearance of an ordinary mirror in a shallow frame, but inreality comprises a. hinged door for the cabinet which may readily beswung open for access to the cabinet.

It has heretofore been the practice in the manufacture of cabinet doorsof this type, to form the door and then to place a mirror on the outsidesurface of the door. 'I'his construction has been necessary in order togive the back of the door an even and pleasing appearance, since it iseX- posed to view when the door is opened. The above construction hasbeen expensive, and usually results in a very bulky door, or a door witha very unsightly back. 'I'he above is especially true of doors made ofsheet metal, of which my novel door is constructed.

Another disadvantage of the doors heretofore constructed is that if themirror becomes broken it is necessary to replace the whole cabinet doorin order to obtain a new mirror door, or to take the door olf of thecabinet and to dismantle it and build it completely over containing anew mirror. 'Ihis cannot be done by the ordinary householder, andusually necessitates the return of the whole cabinet, or at least thedoor, to the factory for rebuilding.

It is an object of my invention to provide a. cabinet door composed ofsheet metal, which has none of the above disadvantages and which may bemade very cheaply, and which has a mirror covering substantially theentire face. My novel door also has a neat back of balanced and uniformappearance.

It is a. further obje'ct of my invention to provide a cabinet door, withall of the aforesaid advantages, and in which the mirror, if it becomesbroken, may be readily removed from the door, and a new one inserted inits place, without the necessity of removing the door from the cabinet,r in any way dismantling the cabinet.

A further object of my invention is to provide a cabinet door whichshall be substantially composed of a single blank with the back portionintegral with the frame portion, and in which the use of solder, Weldingor any similar binding material or operation is unnecessary, except forthe attachment of the hinge and the latch to the door.

'I'hese and other objects of my invention which will be set forthhereinafter or will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon readingthese speci- Application No. 10,495

fications, I accomplish by that certain construction and arrangement ofparts of which I shall now describe a preferred embodiment. Reference isnow made to the drawings which form a part hereof, and in which- Figure1 is a front elevational plan View of the blank from which my door ismade.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the view shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the removable top edge blank.

Figure 4 is a perspective of the hinge, with part cut away to conservespace.

Figure 5 is a front perspective of the door with the mirror partlyremoved and showing the removable edge piece removed. Part of thisfigure is cut away to conserve space.

Figure 6 is a back perspective of the assembled door.

Figure 7 is a. section of Figure 6 taken along the section line 1 1.

Figure 8 is a section of the section line 8 8.

In the practice of my invention I provide a metal blank I composed ofsheet metal or any similar material, with side and top and bottom edgeportions 2, 3, 4, and 5 outlining the size of the finished door.Integral with the surface having the edge portions 2, 3, 4, and 5 arethe three side pieces 6, l, and 8, and contiguous with these side piecesare the front frame or edge pieces 9, I0 and II. Contiguous with thefourth side 2, 3, of the blank are two projecting ears I2 and I3. Theends of the front edges are beveled as at I4 and have circular cutoutportions I5, so as to present a curved corner in the finished door. Thethree side pieces are all of the same width, which is slightly greaterthan the thickness of thv mirror itself. There is a second blank I6 withthe side piece I'I of the same length as the side piece l on the otherblank. Integral with this side piece Il there is the front edging I8,and integral with this side piece Il, but on the opposite side from thefront edging, is the supplemental back wall I9. There are two slits 20and 2| cut in the side piece Il and so positioned that they willregister with the two ears I2 and I3. This blank I6 represents theremovable side piece and front edging for the fourth side. On the backwall there is the depression 22, 23 of such a width that the distancefrom the inner edgev of the depression to the edge of the blank, i. e.,22-2 is equal to the width 24-25 of the supplemental back wall I9, andof a depth equal to the gauge of the metal sheet. 'Ihere may also be adepression 23, 26, on

Figure 5 taken along the back wall to accommodate the hinge 21 (Fig. 4)so as to present an even surfa'ce when this hinge is in place, and whenthe supplemental back wall I9 is in position. 'I'he end of thesupplemental back wall I9 may be beveled as at 28, and also the end ofthe hinge piece as at 29, so that they will register with each other.The hinge 21 is of the ordinary strip type and composed of the samematerial as the blanks, having a length equal to the side 3-4 of theback wall.

In forming and assembling my invention, the side pieces 6, 1 and 9 arebent perpendicular to the back portion 2, 3, 4, 5, and the three frontedges 9, II), and II are bent inward and perpendicular to the sidepieces and parallel to the back wall, giving the appearance asillustrated in Figure 5. The blank I6 has the front edge I9 and thesupplemental back wall I9 bent parallel to each other and perpendicularto the plane of web I1, and both projecting in the same direction fromthe web I1. The hinge piece 21 is fastened on the back of the back wall2,3, 4, 5, in the depression 23-26 as in Figure 6. In my preferredembodiment this fastening is done by spot Welding as at 30. A latch 3|may be spot welded on the back of the back wall on the opposite sidefrom the hinge. This latch 3| in my preferred embodiment is in the formof a. projecting spring adapted to keep my cabinet door closed byfriction with the cabinet frame.

In assembling my door the mirror I5 is slipped into the frame formedfrom my blank I through the fourth side, which does not have a sidepiece or front edge. After the mirror has been slid in, the piece formedfrom the blank I6 is placed in position by slipping the piece over thefourth edge 2-3 of the door in such a manner that the ears I2, I3, willslip through the slits 2D, 2|, and the supplemental wall portion I9 willregister in the depression 22, 23, and against the bevel 29 of the hinge21. The ears I2, I3, are now bent toward the front of the mirror anddown onto the edge I1 (as illustrated in Fig. '7). It may be desirableto slide a piece of paper or cardboard behind the mirror in order tosteady it, but this packing is merely incidental and well known in theart. My mirror door may now be swung on its hinge on the front of acabinet, and it will give a very pleasing appearance to the back as wellas to the front.

I wish particularly to call attention to the cheapness of constructionincident to my invention. The whole of my door frame is made out of asingle gauge of sheet metal, and in reality consists of only two blanks.These blanks may be cheaply and easily pressed out of ordinary cheapsheet stock. The hinge and the latch may be made from the same stock,and the only welding or fastening necessary is the attaching of thehinge and the latch. If the mirror in my invention should become broken,it is only necessary to remove the removable piece made from the blankI6 by bending back the two ears I2 and I3, and then sliding out thebroken mirror and inserting a new one in its place. It will not benecessary to remove the door from the cabinet, or to in any waydissemble the cabinet itself. The portions I5 on the ends of the frontedging come together in the finished product. and present curved cornerswhich are very pleasing in appearance. It is not necessary to fasten thecorners in any way, since the natural stiffness of the metal will keepthem in position. The back of my door gives an even appearance. sincethe hinge and the supplemental back wall are sunk into the back wallitself.

It is to be understood that different forms of my preferred form may bemade without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

I. In a metal frame door, the combination of a fiat four-sided back,three upwardly projecting side pieces integral with three sides of saidback, three relatively narrow front pieces integral with said sidepieces and projecting at right angles therewith, a plurality of earsprojecting from and integral with the fourth side of said back, aremovable side and front piece integral with a narrow supplemental backpiece, said removable side piece containing slits registering with saidears and positioned on said fourth side of said back in such a mannerthat said supplemental back piece lies over said back piece, and saidears being bent over said fourth side piece, so as to hold saidremovable side piece in position relative to said back piece, said backpiece having a depression to accommodate said supplemental back piece soas to present a uniform smooth surface. l

2. In a metal cabinet door, the combination of a mirror, a frametherefor comprising a back, three sides and front edges integral withsaid back, the fourth side being open, a separate piece constituting afourth side and front edge and supplemental back, and means forattaching said fourth side and front edge and supplemental back to saidback, said back having a depression of a depth equal to the gauge of themetal to accommodate said supplemental back.

3. In a metal frame door, a combina-tion of a back, three sides andrelatively narrow front pieces integral therewith, a fourth side andfront piece and supplemental back, said back having a recess of a depthequal to the gauge of the metal to accommodate said supplemental back,and means integral with said back forV fastening said fourth side andfront piece and supplemental back onto said back.

4. In a metal frame door, the combination of a back, three sides andrelatively narrow front pieces integral therewith, a fourth side andfront piece and supplemental back, said back having a recess of a depthequal to the gauge of the metal to accommodate said supplemental back,and means integral with said back for fastening said fourth side andfront piece and supplemental back onto said back, said means comprisingat least one projecting ear.

5. In a metal mirror door, the combination of a mirror and a frame, saidframe comprising a back and three sides integral with said back andthree front edges integral with said side pieces, the fourth side havinga depression of a depth equal to the gauge of the metal, a removableside piece comprising a side, a front edge, and a narrow back pieceintegral with said side and said front edge, slits positioned in saidside piece, and projecting ears from said back piece being projectedthrough said slits for the purpose of holdy ing said removable sidepiece in position relative to said back piece after said mirror has beeninserted in said first mentioned piece, said narrow back piece beingaccommodated by said depression in said back.

6. In a frame for a. mirror or the like the combination of a four sidedplate member having top, bottom, and side edges, a mirror or the likeieceiving channel projecting from three of said edges and eachcomprising a side and a front piece adapted to overlie the mirror or thelike, a plurality of bendable ears projecting from the fourth side ofthe plate and lying in the plane of the plate, said bendable ears beingpositioned inwardly of the corners thereof, and a removable channelcomprising back, side, and front members, said front member beingco-planar with the fronts of the adjacent receiving channels, said sideof the removable channel having slits therein adjacent to the back ofthe channel and in registry with the ears of the plate through whichslits said bendable ears pass, and said ears being adapted to be bent atright angles to the plate into engagement with the said side of theremovable channel after said channel is in position for securing same insaid position.

7. In a frame for a mirror or the like the combination of a four sidedplate member having top, bottom, and side edges, a mirror or the likereceiving channel projecting from three of said edges and eachcomprising a side and a front piece adapted to overlie the mirror or thelike, a plurality of bendable ears projecting from the fourth side ofthe plate and lying in the plane of the plate, said bendable ears beingpositioned inwardly of the corners thereof, and a removable channelcomprising back, side, and front members, said front member beingco-planar with the fronts of the adjacent receiving channels, said sideof the removable channel having slits therein adjacent to the back ofthe channel and in registry with the ears of the plate through whichslits said bendable ears pass, and said ears being adapted to be bent atright angles to the plate into engagement with the said side of theremovable channel after-said channel is in position for securing same insaid position, said back of the removable channel being of a widthgreater than the front thereof and overlying the outer surface of theplate.

8. In a frame for a mirror or the like the combination of a four sidedplate member having top, bottom, and side edges, a mirror or the likereceiving channel projecting from three of said edges and eachcomprising a side and a front piece adapted to overlie the mirror or thelike, a plurality of bendable ears projecting from the fourth side ofthe plate and lying in the plane of the plate, said bendable ears beingpositioned inwardly of the corners thereof, and a removable channelcomprising back, side, and front members, said front member beingco-planar with the fronts of the adjacent receiving channels, said sideof the removable channel having slits therein adjacent to the back ofthe channel and in registry with the ears of the plate through whichslits said bendable ears pass, and said ears being adapted to be bent atright angles to the plate into engagement with the said side of theremovable channel after said channel is in position for securing same insaid position, said back of the removable channel being of a widthgreater than the front thereof and overlying the outer surface of theplate, and a hinge plate secured to the outer surface of the back plateadjacent one edge thereof.

9. In a frame for a mirror or the like comprising a back plate of anarea substantially coextensive with the area of the mirror or the liketo be supported thereby, a channel around the perimeter of the backplate and having an opening therein substantially equal to the width ofsaid mirror to permit the insertion of said mirror or the like thereinand said receiving channel including the back plate as one of its legs,a front ange for overlying the mirror and a. side connecting the frontflange with the back plate, a pluralityof bendable tabs projecting fromthe portion of the perimeter of the back plate which is free of thereceiving channel, said tabs lying in the plane of the back plate, and aremovable channel adapted to be secured to the back plate for completingthe channel frame around the perimeter of the back platev and comprisinga front flange, a, back flange, and a connecting side, said back flangebeing of a width greater than the width of the front ange, and the sideof the removable channel having formed therein adjacent to the backflange a plurality of slits adapted to register with and receive thebendable tabs of the back plate which tabs are subsequently bent to aposition at right angles to the back plate against the removable channelside to secure the same in position.

10. In a frame for a mirror or the like comprising a back plate of anarea. substantially coextensive with the area of the mirror or the liketo be supported thereby, a channel around the perimeter of the backplate and having an opening therein substantially equal to the width ofsaid mirror to permit the insertion of said mirror or the like thereinand said receiving channel including the back plate as one of its legs,a front flange for overlying the mirror and a side connecting the frontflange with the back plate, a plurality of bendable tabs projecting fromthe portion of the perimeter of the back plate which is free of thereceiving channel, said tabs lying in the plane of the back plate, a,removable channel adapted to be secured to the back plate for completingthe channel frame around the perimeter of the back plate and comprisinga front flange, a back flange, and a connecting side, said back flangebeing of a Width greater than the Width of the front ange, and the sideof the removable channel having formed therein adjacent to the backflange a plurality of slits adapted to register with and receive thebendable tabs of the back plate which tabs are subsequently bent to aposition at right angles to the back plate against the removable channelside to secure the same in position, and a hinge plate secured to theouter surface of the back plate.

SIDNEY PIKER.

